Why should you read “Dune” by Frank Herbert? - Dan Kwartler
A mother and her son trek
across an endless desert.
Wearing special skin-tight suits
to dissipate heat and recycle moisture,
the travelers aren’t worried
about dying of thirst.
Their fears are much greater.
The pair try to walk without rhythm,
letting the vibrations of their footsteps
blend into the shifting sands.
But soon, the sound of the desert
is drowned out by a louder hissing.
As a mound of sand races towards them,
the pair’s unnatural gait
turns into a sprint.
The two clamber into a nearby rock face,
as a sandworm 400 meters long
bursts from the desert floor.
This is the world of "Dune."
Written by Frank Herbert
and published in 1965,
"Dune" takes place
in a far-flung future,
where humanity rules the stars
in a giant feudal empire.
This medieval motif goes beyond
just the government.
Unlike most interstellar sci-fi,
Herbert's humans conquered
the stars without any computers.
Following an ancient war with robots,
humanity has forbidden
the construction of any machine
“in the likeness of a human mind.”
But rather than stifling their expansion,
this edict forced humans
to evolve in startling ways—
becoming biological computers, psychic
witches, and prescient space pilots.
Members of these super-powered factions
are regularly employed
by various noble houses,
all competing for power and new planets
to add to their kingdoms.
But almost all these superhuman skills
rely on the same precious resource:
the spice.
This mystical crop also known as “melange”
is essential for all space travel,
making it the cornerstone
of the galactic economy.
And it only grows
on the desert planet Arrakis,
a dangerous and inhospitable world
whose native inhabitants
have long rebelled against the empire.
Arrakis, also called Dune,
is the setting for Herbert’s novel,
which follows Paul
of the noble House Atreides.
The book begins with Paul’s family
being assigned control of Dune
as part of an elaborate plot
by their sworn enemies:
the sadistic slave drivers
of House Harkonnen.
The conflict between these houses upends
the delicate political balance on Arrakis.
Soon, Paul is catapulted
into the middle of a planetary revolution,
where he must prove himself capable
of leading— and surviving—
on this hostile desert world.
But Arrakis is not simply
an endless sea of sand.
Herbert was an avid environmentalist,
who spent over five years creating
Dune’s complex ecosystem.
The planet is checkered with climate
belts and wind tunnels
that have shaped its rocky topography.
Different temperate zones produce
varying desert flora.
And almost every element of Dune’s
ecosystem works together
to produce the planet’s essential export.
Herbert’s world building also includes
a rich web of philosophy and religion.
Paul’s mother Jessica, is a member
of the Bene Gesserit,
an ancient cult
of spice-assisted psychics.
Sometimes called “witches”
for their mysterious powers,
the Bene Gesserit have operated
as a shadow government for millennia
in an effort to guide society
towards enlightenment.
Similarly ancient are the Mentats—
human computers capable
of processing incredible amounts of data.
While the Mentats are bastions
of logic and reason,
their results are not mere calculations,
but rather, streams of constantly
shifting possibilities.
However, no group is more central
to "Dune" than the Fremen.
Natives of Arrakis, they are the keepers
of the planet’s many secrets.
Paul’s journey takes him deep
into the Fremen’s exclusive brotherhood,
where he must prove himself trustworthy
in a series of increasingly
deadly challenges.
All these factions have deep histories
that pervade the text,
and Herbert also incorporates that
sense of scale into the book’s structure.
Each chapter begins with a quote
from a future history book,
recalling elements of the events
that are about to unfold.
The book also contains in-universe
appendices
that further explore the Empire’s history;
alongside a glossary of words like
“Gom jabbar” and “Shai-Hulud."
Dune’s epic story continues to unfold
over a six-book saga that spans millennia.
But every story of Arrakis’
future begins here:
as Paul pursues a path
that is dangerous, demanding,
and always on the verge of being
consumed by the oncoming storm.
